Dmitry Yazov

Dmitry Yazov (born 8 November 1924) was Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, and the last surviving Marshal of the USSR.

Biography
Yazov was born in Omsk Oblast in the Soviet Union, and fought in World War II. From 1979 to 1980 Yazov commanded the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia, and in 1986 he made a favorable impression on Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, ensuring his promotion to Minister of Defense in 1987.

Under his tenure, Yazov fought the Afghan Mujahideen in Afghanistan in an era of defeat. In 1988, a year after he was appointed, Gorbachev ordered the withdrawal of all Soviet forces in Afghanistan, and his term ended in 1991. He is the last surviving Marshal of the USSR.